Flathead murderer convicted of same in Alaska

The former Flathead man who pleaded guilty in the shooting death of Lorraine Kay Morin in 2008 has been found guilty of murdering another girlfriend — 12 years earlier and up north in Alaska.

A jury in Juneau, Alaska, on April 11 found Robert Kowalski, 53, guilty of second-degree murder for fatally shooting Sandra Perry on July 21, 1996, at Yakutat’s Glacier Bear Lodge.

In 2009, Kowalski was convicted in Flathead County District Court of mitigated deliberate homicide for killing Morin. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Morin, who left behind six children, the youngest in elementary school, was shot in the face at her home on Highway 206 south of Columbia Falls.

Because of the similarities between the two shootings — both women were shot in the head at close range, and Kowalski claimed both were accidents — Alaska officials reopened the 1996 case and charged him with murder.

Assistant Public Defender Eric Hedland urged jurors in Juneau to acquit Kowalski, arguing the death of Perry, a 38-year-old mother of three, was considered an accident in 1996. The only thing that had changed since the Alaska investigation was Kowalski’s later legal problems, he said.

Hedland said no argument preceded the shooting, and Kowalski was not immediately charged because he cooperated with investigators and his account of the incident matched evidence found at the scene.

Kowalski, who did not testify at the trial, had told Alaska investigators at the time that he grabbed a shotgun after hearing what he thought was a bear outside their room at the resort. He said he tripped on a bed, fell on Perry and the gun went off as he stood up. Perry was hit in the face with a slug from the 12-gauge shotgun.

Assistant Attorney General James Fayette told jurors in Juneau the delay in prosecution was a miscarriage of justice.

“It’s not too late to correct that injustice now,” Fayette said. “Mr. Kowalski killed Sandra Perry, ended her life suddenly, unfairly.”

Fayette told jurors Kowalski’s story was not credible.

“Why do you have to pick up the 12-gauge shotgun? You’re inside a hotel room. Do you really think a bear’s going to jump through the window or break down the door? It’s ridiculous,” he said. “It’s a silly story.”

The shooting occured during a heated argument, Fayette said, and the location of the shot was not a coincidence.

“If it’s an accidental shooting or just a goofy shooting, what happens?” he asked. “A round might hit the ceiling, or it might hit the floor, or it might hit somebody in the arm or go at a crazy angle or go through someone’s foot, but right at the head? And that’s an accident? Come on.”

The Alaska jury deadlocked on a first-degree murder charge that would have required jurors to find Kowalski intentionally killed Perry. They were unanimous in convicting Kowalski of second-degree murder for causing Perry’s death by showing an “extreme indifference” to the value of human life.

Juneau Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez declared a mistrial on the first-degree count and scheduled a status hearing. Prosecutors have 45 days to decide whether to pursue another trial on the first-degree murder count.

Kowalski will be sentenced later for the second-degree murder conviction, for which he could face up to 99 years in prison.